Lan Wei at the Chinese Arts Centre

I’ve just been to the Chinese Arts Centre, Manchester, to see this exhibition by anothermountainman (Stanley Wong).  Lan Wei means Decaying End, referring to the derelict buildings that are the subject of Wong’s images.  It is well curated with the photographs hanging freely like flags. They are reminiscent of the buildings’ windows in the photographs themselves.

I really enjoyed this exhibition and hope to see more work from anothermountainman in the UK.  Well worth visiting if you are in Manchester – runs till 13 June 2010.

Spotted the morning after my bike got stolen

Andrew Querner

Just came across the Blog of a photographer working on subjects that I like.  He is achieving what I would ideally like to do – a mix of adventure/mountaineering/climbing photography with reportage.

Blog

Portfolio

Dovestone Reservoir

Shopping

Taken on January the 10th 2009.

I used to groan when my Dad complained that Christmas decorations went up too early  but this takes the biscuit.

Canon Powershot G10 and the future of compacts

I have just purchased a new camera- a Canon G10 – after losing my Nikon SLR in the Alps.  The money from my insurance company was not enough to buy an SLR of the quality that I would want and the size of the G10 makes it perfect for travel and climbing.  This makes it perfect for me at the moment – if I need higher quality I can borrow or rent an SLR.

The quality of the camera isn’t bad either (see the DP Review here).  The G10 has a pretty sharp lens and a solid body with several control dials to change settings quickly which I love.  The zoom range is also fantastic with a fairly wide-angle lens.  For me, the main reason for buying a camera like this, rather than a cheaper, more compact one, is the abilty to shoot RAW.   Clearly a camera this small cannot produce the same quality images as an SLR having a smaller sensor and one zoom lens.

There are few features that I am disappointed that were not included however.  The main one would be improved performance at high ISO.  Increasing pixel counts at the expense of noise at ISO 400 and above seems to be in contradiction to what the type of consumer that would buy a G10 wants.  The speed of the camera is not fantastic either.  Not quite so importantly I would like to see High Definition video on the G10.  Again this is technology that is available to lower end SLRs.  Perhaps it is not in camera manufacturers interests to create such a well featured camera that could impact on their lucrative consumer SLR market, with all its potential add-ons (think extra lenses and flash guns etc.)

Hopefully the camera manufacturers will soon realise that their customers buying cameras such as the G10 or Nikon’s P6000 are not fooled by huge pixel counts and start providing them with what they want – a compact camera that performs well in low light, has a wide angle and can be used efficiently in manual and auto modes.

Still, the G10 seems to be a great camera for its convenient size and look for to having fun with it and hopefully taking some great photos.

Next up

After graduating this summer and having an amazing extended time in the Alps it is back to real life in London.  I am currently looking for a job and house hunting so it really is a new start for me at the moment.  I’m looking forward to what the future holds very much.

I have lost my camera (to a mountain stream) and my computer is unavailable to me at the moment so I feel like I’m missing out on working creatively.  I have posted some photos on Facebook and Flickr recently but won’t be able to do more for a while.  I was hoping to be updating my website at the moment too.  I am also missing the framework uni gave me to suggest new things to read and learn about.

I’m not sure in what direction this blog will go.  I have resolved to practice what I preach and use my cameraphone.  Should be liberating to use such a simple camera without worrying about creating the perfect image with an SLR and Photoshop.

Degree Show website

My degree show is on Friday. This is the website for it – made really easily using software called Rapidweaver (Mac only).  You can see some of my images that are on display and others that are not on my Flickr photostream.  Prints are available to purchase, just send me an email.

Brazilian tribespeople

The aerial photographs of Brazilian tribes-people released today are incredibly interesting for a number of reasons. They bring up questions about the best way to protect these people and let them maintain their way of life. The flight was undertaken by the Brazilian government to prove the existence of these tribes so they may hopefully be protected by illegal loggers in this remote part of the Amazon. When similar tribes have come into contact with the loggers they have very often been killed or die later of diseases, such as chicken pocks, that they have not developed immunity to. One cannot help wondering at the effect of this plane though. What will they make of it? Will they try to leave this area and come across the loggers because they are frightened of attacks from the air. They certainly perceive the plane as a threat judging by the images of them attempting to shoot it down with their longbows.

One thing is certain that in an age where most of the world has been photographed and put online for all to see, these photographs are truly unique, new and very exciting.

Let us just hope that this is the nearest we come to disturbing these people.

‘In order for ethnology to live, its object must die; by dying, the object takes its revenge for being “discovered” and with its death defies the science that want to grasp it.’ Baudrillard

More pictures can be found at Guardian.co.uk.

Lego Classics

Classic photographs recreated using Lego by Mike Stimpson. Found on the Guardian‘s usually excellent photography section.